Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows is a fiscal conservative, and even he doesn't want Republicans attempting to attach Harvey aid for Texas to the debt ceiling, the North Carolina representative told The Washington Post.
"The Harvey relief would pass on its own, and to use that as a vehicle to get people to vote for a debt ceiling is not appropriate," Meadows told the Post. "We're going to fund Harvey relief without a doubt, but I think it just sends the wrong message when you start attaching it to the debt ceiling."
Lawmakers return from summer recess next week and have until Sept. 29 to raise the debt ceiling to avoid a federal default.
Meadows would normally attach restrictions on federal spending to negotiations over the debt ceiling, but not when it comes to approving an aid package for Texas, the Post reported.
"My whole focus has always been, let's make sure the relief efforts are about the relief efforts," Meadows told the Post. "I'm a fiscal conservative, and I would prefer to have offsets, but let's put it this way: The focus has not been on the offsets as much as it has been on getting relief to those affected."
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